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Summer Drinks 2010
by Katherine Martinelli Antoinette Bruno
June 2010
With the farm­to­bar movement going strong, there’s no better time than summer to bring the garden’s
bounty into your glass. Mixologists are hitting up the farmers markets and their own growing patches to take
advantage of the freshest seasonal delicacies. They’re coming back with exotic ingredients, building flavor
profiles well beyond the typical berry, lime, and melon­infused libations of summer. Ingredients like rose and
rosewater, geranium, pineapple, and even celeriac are some surprising ingredients that help refresh
heat­fazed customers. And these mixologists are focusing on the lighter spirits (gin, rum, and vodka) as
bases for their warm weather concoctions.
The mix masters included here are also all in restaurants rather than stand alone bars. It’s yet another
testament to the fact that more and more restaurants are reaping the rewards of investing in serious cocktail
programs. And contrary to common perception, artisanal and farm fresh cocktails can be just as profitable as
the juice­in­a­jug variety—but a hell of a lot more tasty.
Rose Geranium Mojito
Mixologist Lulu Almaguer of ​Madera​ – Menlo Park, CA
It’s not summer if you haven’t made at least one mojito. But most mixo’s know that not all mojitos are
created equal, and many attempts to ‘build upon’ the classic with new ingredients end in cloying disaster.
But in her unusual spin on a classic mojito, Mixologist Lulu Almaguer has made one particular and powerful
addition. She makes both a simple syrup and a sugar rim using fresh rose geranium, adding a floral layer
that sings against the classic profile of the mojito. Almaguer muddles fresh lime, mint, rose geranium leaves,
rose geranium simple syrup, and rum—a combination of ingredients that makes for a refreshing, invigorating
concoction. And as if tasting good wasn’t enough, Almaguer’s drinks are all artisanal and contain
antioxidants. In this refreshing summertime mix, mint acts as a digestive and rose geranium as an
anti­depressant—ideal to counteract the alcohol, a natural depressant! But Almaguer’s mojitos aren’t to be
taken medicinally—they’re to be imbibed the way any summer cocktail should be, with friends, outside,
sometime in the late afternoon.